Abalone shell
Organic gem
Also called Paua
About it
Abalone shell lined with vivid blue, green, and pink nacre; New Zealand paua is the most colourful. Harvesting live abalone is banned or tightly limited in many places, including British Columbia and California.
- Type
- Organic gem
- Group
- Mollusc shell (nacre)
- Hardness (Mohs)
- 3–4
- Specific gravity
- 2.6–2.8
- Lustre
- pearly
- Colours
- blue, green, purple, pink, iridescent
- Transparency
- opaque
- Cleavage and fracture
- none; layered, uneven fracture
Typical values: real specimens vary. For more, see mindat.org.